Monday, July 25, 2011

After Kim chose her dress, she chose her accessories. She went with a cathedral-style veil covered in tiny sparkles and a beautiful headband. It almost made me tear up a bit to see the whole get-up together. Amazing!

Her grandma generously jumped in and offered to cover the cost of the headwear, and it was such a sweet moment!

We all had so much fun snacking on appetizers, sipping wine, and watching Kimbo make her big decision!

This was such an amazing day. I was so lucky to have all of my best buds and my amazing female family members with me while I shopped for the perfect wedding dress. This is still one of my all-time favorite memories! I can't wait to show my possible future daughter(s) these pictures and tell them all about the day!

There were so many beautiful dresses...below are most of the ones I tried on. Some made my decision difficult, some not so much...one of them made my decision very easy!

Maybes...

My second favorite dress of the day!

Loved the buttons down the back of this one!

I liked the cut of the top of this one, but the bow was a bit much for me...

I felt a bit too exposed in the back of this one.

This one reminded me of clubwear with the back cutouts!

I loved the one-shoulder look, but it was too plain.

I felt like this one showed a bit too much skin.

Definite Nos...

I tried on a bunch of bridesmaid dresses which could have been ordered in white...

None were show-stoppers, hence why they aren't wedding dresses...

Meh.

Truly unflattering up top!

After many, many wardrobe changes, I finally decided to try on the one that had caught my eye before hitting the dressing room. I hadn't picked it up because it was WAY over my budget, but I was lucky enough to have my Grandma Michelle offer to help me pay for it...

I really like this one...

Very comfortable...

Perfecto!

This is the one! Raise the roof!

Hooray!

Okay, so I didn't actually throw a bouquet, but it was fun to pretend!

Last year, Al and I spent Fourth of July talking about the fact that we couldn't believe that, in one year, we would be a married couple! Fourth of July would be special because it would be our first holiday together as husband and wife. Well, that year went by so quickly, and we found ourselves home after an amazing wedding and trip to Mexico ready to celebrate!

We met up with Al's family in Rantoul for the parade. Sarah and Mary planned a mini tailgate, complete with eggs, sausage, tons of pastries, and mimosas! YUM!

The kiddos all looked so cute. I love kids dressed up in America gear (especially THESE kids)!

Al loves America too...

The kids anxiously waited for some candy, and I don't blame them because Rantoul's candy is da' bomb! I can't believe that I got gypped throughout my entire childhood on Fourth of July. 85 Tootsie Rolls...phhhffffttt. Whatevs! These kids cleaned up! I'm talking mini premium candy bars, people...the stuff they serve at the checkout line!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Al and I were dreading leaving, but we were looking forward to a relaxing, romantic last night in Mexico. Our night was a bit derailed, but I'll get to that later...

First, we planned a mini-progressive dinner to enjoy our favorite parts of each restaurant on the resort: soup and appetizers at Mercure, dinner to see what we'd missed out on at Capers, and dessert anywhere!

We were treated to gorgeous weather, so we decided to take our appetizers and soup at Mercure on the patio.

Afterwards, we hit Capers up for some "authentic Italian".

Al and I got some pretty hefty meals...

It certainly wasn't Olive Garden, but a pretty good attempt at "authentic Italian" at least! ;)

This was the point at which things got a little hazy. After a brief attempt at a romantic stroll around the resort, it became clear to me that Montezuma had a hold of my belly. That night and the following day of travel was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. At least the rest of the vacation made up for it!

Al and I ventured down to the beach this evening so that I could collect some shells for our nieces and nephew and we could create our thank-you message. I got lots of loot and I think our pic turned out pretty darn good!